This disclosure is concerned with distribution of weight between the front and rear axles of a towing truck, such as a pickup truck, when used for pulling trailers of the type having an overhanging gooseneck which is connected to a fifth wheel hitch at the rear portion of the truck bed.
It is conventional to mount the fifth wheel hitch in a truck bed so that the kingpin axis pivotally interconnecting the truck and trailer is directly above the rear axle of the truck. This leaves adequate room for turning of the trailer, both between the rear end of the truck and the lower portions of the trailer, and between the front end of the gooseneck and the forwardly spaced truck cab. However, the result is that the load of the trailer is primarily exerted on the rear wheels of the truck. This often reduces the load on the truck front wheels, affecting steering and road stability, as well as headlight patterns.
To balance the weight of the towed trailer between the front and rear axles of the towing truck, this invention adds a forwardly protruding arm mounted to the trailer and operatively engaged with the bed of the truck for transferring weight to the truck bed forward of the truck rear axle. The pressure between the arm and truck bed is adjustable to permit balancing of differing trailer loads. The arm is pivoted independently of the trailer and its movement is physically limited so that it does not swing appreciably from side to side in response to the normal turning of the truck and trailer relative to one another.